Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Alphonso Davies salutes the crowd after playing his final match as a member of the MLS soccer team, in Vancouver, on Sunday October 28, 2018. Davies, who grew up in Edmonton, Alta., and turns 18 on Friday, signed with German club Bayern Munich earlier this year. Darryl Dyck / CP

The Postmedia 2018 Canadian Male Athlete of the Year caught a morning flight out of Edmonton Wednesday headed to Germany to take on 2019.

Edmonton’s just-turned 18-year-old Alphonso Davies, with the changing of the calendar, is now eligible to play in actual games for Bayern Munich.

The young phenomenon that set a record for attracting the largest transfer fee of any Canadian or any player in MLS history, headed back from the Bundesliga Christmas break believing he’s ready to take on the challenge of becoming an international soccer star.

After spending a few days with his parents in Edmonton at the end of the Vancouver Whitecaps MLS season to celebrate his birthday back in early November, Davies joined the team in Germany for more than a month. He was not, however, eligible to play games until Jan. 1.

After a 10-day Christmas visit to spend more time with his family and friends back in Edmonton, the teenager headed to the airport Wednesday morning ready to embrace his incredible opportunity.

“Now I’m able to play games,” he said before catching a flight to Toronto, en route to Munich and then join the team on a flight to Qatar.

“We go to a warm weather training camp in Qatar from the fourth to the 10th. Then we have a match in Hoffenheim,” he said of the return to league play.

Sitting second with 11 wins, three draws and three losses to league-leading Borussia Dortmund (13-3-1), Bayern Munich returns with Davies pumped to play.

“I’m excited. My going to Munich beforehand to see how it is and now going back to hopefully participate in games is just wonderful,” he said. “When I got there, they had fitness testing and then had me working out with the team. Then I traveled with them to the Champions League group-stage game against Ajax in Amsterdam.

“When I was training with the team, some of the players told me I was there because I’m good and not to be afraid to show my ability. We had some inter-squad small-sided games and I scored some goals. Being able to score some goals boosted my confidence a lot more.”

Davies says he’ll have a comfort level with his surroundings and his teammates when he returns that he’d never have been able to take into the next stage of his career if he hadn’t spent that time with the team.

“The team has reacted positively to me. When I arrived at the locker-room, they all welcomed me and they’re all excited for me to be there,” he said. “It was pretty exciting for me to meet all the players for the first time. To watch someone on TV and to then sit with them in the locker-room and talk with them was something that I won’t forget.

“The facility is really good with the grass and the training pitch and the locker-room. It’s all quite wonderful. It’s all top-class stuff.”

The team has arranged for a tutor to help him learn the German language.

“It’s going pretty good, I guess. I’m not fluent or anything like that, but I’m learning,” said Davies, who has already been driving around Munich. “I’m just trying to settle in and figure out where to go, how to get to training and home. It’s about 10 minutes away.”

Being named Postmedia Male Athlete of the Year totally caught him by surprise.

“I found out on Twitter when I first got up in the morning,” he said prior to heading to the Clareview Recreation Centre for a light workout. “It’s an achievement. I was happy when I saw the news.”

He said it made him think about everything that had happened to him in 2018, including the $22 million transfer fee, a trip to Moscow to speak as part of the Canada-USA-Mexico 2026 successful bid for the FIFA World Cup and joining Christine Sinclair as Soccer Canada’s male and female players of the year.

“To be honest, I can’t believe everything that happened. It’s all just a dream come true. I can’t begin to describe how amazing everything has been,” he said. “Now going to 2019, I’m just excited to get the new year started.”

He should be.

Speaking before the winter break, team manager Niko Kovac went on record for Bayern fans to expect to see Davies sooner rather than later.

“If I compare him with our U23s, then he’s already ahead of the others. He has to acclimatize, that’s clear. But he has quality and we will not slow him down if he can help us,” said the boss of the Bavarian giants.

Phonzie, as he was called by his Whitecap teammates, said he expects opportunity.

“They haven’t told me much but I’m hopefully going to get some playing time. I intend to perform every day in training and when my opportunity comes, I’m going to try and grab it.”

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